Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will host an evening with Govinda Gallery Founder and Director Chris Murray

Murray will discuss ELVIS 1956: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

CLEVELAND (September 7, 2010) – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to welcome Govinda Gallery Founder and Director Chris Murray for the FREE monthly program From Songwriters to Soundmen: The People Behind the Hits on Wednesday, September 15 at 7 p.m. in the Rock Hall’s Foster Theater. This event is presented in conjunction with the opening of the Rock Hall’s latest exhibit ELVIS 1956: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer, which was organized in cooperation with Govinda Gallery, Washington D.C.

Jim Henke, the Rock Hall’s vice president of education exhibitions and curatorial affairs, will moderate the evening, in which Murray will discuss these iconic photographs as well as his curation of the ELVIS 1956 exhibit. Questions will be taken from the audience at the end of the interview. This event is FREE with a reservation. Please email edu@rockhall.org or call (216) 515-8426 to RSVP.

Christopher Murray is the founder and director of Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC. Since 1975, Govinda Gallery has established itself as one of the most innovative, contemporary galleries in the United States. Govinda Gallery originally became known for exhibiting many of the nation’s leading pop artists. Murray enjoyed a close personal and professional friendship with Andy Warhol for over fifteen years until the time of the artist’s death. Through his association with Warhol, Murray came to know and exhibit many of the nation’s leading artists during the late 70s and early 80s.

In 1984, Murray hosted the first exhibition of celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz at Govinda Gallery. That exhibition featured Leibovitz’s work as chief photographer for Rolling Stone magazine. Since that time, the Govinda Gallery has developed as the leading gallery in the world representing and exhibiting photographs related to contemporary music. Murray has organized more than 200 major exhibitions of paintings, drawings, and photographs and has received critical accolades in Rolling Stone magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, The International Herald Tribune, American Photo, and Vanity Fair. Murray also wrote the introduction to the book Elvis 1956 (2009), which was published on the occasion of the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, Elvis at 21.

This event is part of the series From Songwriters to Soundmen: The People Behind the Hits, a Rock Hall educational program that shines the spotlight on the people whose contributions to the rock and roll art form are often as powerful as those of the artists themselves.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has FREE educational offerings year round. Additional adult education programs include Teachers Rock, which shows educators how to bring rock and roll music into their classrooms and Rock and Roll Night School, which gives interested adults the opportunity to expand their rock and roll-related knowledge.

For more information about these and other Rock Hall educational programs, visit www.rockhall.com.About ELVIS 1956: Photographs by Alfred WertheimerELVIS 1956: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer will open to the public on Monday, September 13, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Circular Gallery of the Main Exhibit Hall. Taken during the year Elvis turned 21, Alfred Wertheimer’s photographs are a remarkable visual record of a defining time for rock and roll’s most enduring figure.

1956 was the year Elvis first appeared in the national consciousness. His RCA records and national broadcast helped make him a star. Alfred Wertheimer, then a young freelance photojournalist, was there to document the extraordinary transition.

ELVIS 1956 is the first and last unguarded look at Elvis, featuring images of him in every aspect of his life—from performance and with the fans, to the recording studio and at home with his family. On stage and off, Elvis defined the notion of “rock style.” His electrifying synthesis of rhythm and blues, gospel, and country bridged traditional divides between white and black, urban and rural. For tens of millions of fans, Elvis transformed the beat of everyday life. His music and style helped launch a cultural revolution. This exhibition has been organized in cooperation with Govinda Gallery, Washington D.C.

ELVIS 1956 will be open through January 2, 2011.

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and MuseumThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays (and Saturdays through Labor Day), the Museum is open until 9 p.m. Museum admission is $22 for adults, $18 for adult residents of Greater Cleveland, $17 for seniors (65+), $13 for youth (9-12), children under 8 and Museum Members are always free, for information or to join the membership program call 216. 515.8425. For general inquiries, please call 216.781.ROCK(7625) or visit www.rockhall.com. The Museum is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.